29 Apr 2015

Find Your Blogging Mojo

I have lost my blogging mojo and am having trouble finding it. Anyone who follows my blog, and I believe that is not very many (I know, my fault. Crap writing can't be expected to garner a large following or so I believe, albeit erroneously. I have screamed in agony at the popularity of some cringeworthy writing, with no effect on anybody's viewer stats whatsoever).

Oh dear! Sounds like this is going to be a swear-fest. And to think I have only recently been warned about doing it at my peril. For the Gods of Google, not to mention the PR angels tend to frown upon uncouth language. Pity they don't seem to care much about spelling or grammar.

Says she who leaves a sentence in mid-air. Anywho! I was going on about my lost blogging mojo and got utterly distracted by my pet peeve. As I was saying, in a rather roundabout way, I seem to have lost my blogging mojo. I haven't blogged properly in a long time. I haven't blogged at all for over two weeks. Social media seems to be a chore. And I feel all alone and lost in the huge scary place that is the blogoshphere.

That is overdoing it a tad. But there is no denying the lack of joining in with linkies or commenting on other blogs has resulted in a plummeting viewership and an utterly lukewarm, nearly non-existent response to my own linky, which I thought was a rather bright idea at the time.

Rambling on, and on a quest to find my lost blogging mojo, I have devised a strategy that seems to have worked to an extent that it has got me madly typing out this post. If it worked for me, there is no reason why it shouldn't for you.

So all you good bloggers out there, if ever you find yourself at sea over a lost blogging mojo, here are three handy tips that can get you back on track.

1) Edit an old, published post - Pick any at random and read it. Believe me, it is an ordeal by fire. I cringed as I read through some of the trash I had dished out in a moment of what I believed was pure inspiration. So there was much chopping and cropping and image enlarging, which made me feel like I was spring cleaning my blog. It did nothing for my confidence as a writer, but at least it got me thinking about my writing.

2) Attend a blogging conference - Blog Camp in Birmingham happened just as I bottomed out in the search for my lost blogging mojo. Hearing some prolific writers and bloggers speak about the dos and don'ts of blogging made me wonder where I was headed.

Here are a few things that really stood out for me from that day:

Becky at Family Budgeting and Penny at Parentshaped: Forge your own path. Do what makes you comfortable and floats your boat. Celebrate your achievements. Write down realistic goals and targets. Get together with other bloggers as part of blog clinics where you can egg each other on to do your best.

Fiona Steggles, renowned journalist: Everything you write is a story. Find a character to write around and make it engaging. Add detail. Keep your writing simple, easy. Use lovely words but keep your sentences short. Write, and then come back to it after an hour to edit.

3) Write something, anything - As I sat pondering the fate of my blog, I knew I had to start writing again. It is something I have always wanted to do, so there was no turning back now.

So I did, and the post that came out was this one about finding my lost blogging mojo.

If you ever find yourself searching for your blogging mojo, do try these tricks. Who knows, you could end up penning the next social media sensation. If that happens, please don't forget a kind mention of yours truly. A back-link or two will do quite nicely. As Sally at Who's the Mummy says, nothing says thank you better than a back-link!

I lose my mojo often and I think it is all part and parcel of the funny old game that is blogging. So glad you have yours back, and thanks for the mention. Still can't get over what an amazing place you live in!

Oh yes, I know all about losing my blogging mojo so this made a lovely and timely read for me. It's time for me to leap back into it or forget I ever was a blogger, which I don't want to do because I have gained so much from blogging. Like you say, there's no turning back now!!

I had lost my bloggin mojo recently too. It didn't help that I was going self-hosted on my own and was getting more and more discouraged in the set up of my blog everyday! Once I did have it set up, I had no mojo and no ideas either. Like you however, I love to write and wanted to keep going and so I put up a couple easy and cheeky posts! I'm off to Blog On this weekend so I'm sure I'll be inspired then. :-) Great post!

This is absolutely true!!! Commenting on other bloggers post has surely helped the viewership of my blog, but more i have made some blogging friends. I know who writes how, and what. Kind of helps gain knowledge... Loved your tips, thanks a lot :)

I agree. At the same time, I think too much of a break can be detrimental too. That's what happened to me this time. I was away from it all for a longish period of time, and was struggling to get back into the groove.

Forge your own path and know your own worth were the two bits I took from Blog Camp too. For me, since I went back to basics and started writing about what I really cared about again, I feel I love my blog a lot more again. They say write what you know, and its true x x

Blog camps are so good for putting the motivation back. Becky and Penny were awesome weren't they. Everyone at blog camp had some fire in their belly didn't they. Find your mojo lovely, and remember, writing is just a small part of the game :) xx

Some great tips here! It is easy to lose your way sometimes but I am glad to hear you are starting to get back into it. I love blog conferences, the last one I went to really inspired me and gave me a fresh outlook on blogging.